Scorned
by sukura123
Summary: In Siberia, a resistance group with intentions to bring Umbrella to their knees finds a young women out in the snowy banks. BillyxRebecca
1. Chapter 1

**Written by sukura123 & kittykatbebe because we are epic like that XD  
**

**Chapter 1**

Billy looked at Lupo, and she stared back. Her eyes easily chilled through his and he looked away, she was fiercer, and she was in charge. It made sense after all, she had years of experience with such matters while he was much newer to it. Instead, his focus returned to the flashing buttons of the radio, the occasional discharges of static shaking the cold air to its core and making the two jump when it occurred.

The nylon flapped above their heads, even the army grade tent protested the lethal winds. He shivered, tucking his hands into his coat. Lupo, a hard assed U.S.S. member who he'd met after the incident in Raccoon City. Now they worked together to bring the corporation which started the nightmare to its knees. Never had she given him a full explanation of why she left, nor did she tell him what the U.S.S. did exactly, but her actions clearly showed her full loss of loyalty to her previous employers.

She muttered something under her breath in French, one of her typical habits. A rouge U.S.S. member and an ex-convict teamed up together with nothing more than the common purpose of staying hidden, and tracking Umbrella's actions. Without the common goal he doubted they'd be able to stand each other. The radio hissed to life, _"Everything's clear so far." _One of the men who was out in the snow vehicle performing the perimeter search said, most likely Duncan, he figured, as Ronnie the vehicle specialist always insisted in being the driver. The nylon billowed above their heads again, rippling like a wave and making the thick cables squeal.

"Affirmative. Keep going, making it fast. Weather 's closing in." Lupo replied—Billy honestly didn't know her real name. She was 'Lupo' and he was 'Coen'. They worked together to find others like them, and eventually grew large enough set up their base in the Arctic in temporary, drafty tents. Several Umbrella agents were already apprehended thanks to their work, and hidden on such rough terrain, they were nearly impossible to find.

_"We're approaching the Northbound boarder...hold on...we've got something." _A silence followed, a painful silence where doors slammed and shouting voices echoed far away.

"What is it?" Lupo hissed, Billy sensed her fuming. She hated when her questions were not answered immediately. Several seconds passed, he strained listening. No gunfire, no shouts, only faraway talking. Did they meet someone else? Just as he was about to speak, Ronnie's voice echoed over the receiver.

_"We have an unidentified female, unconscious; we're bringing her your way now." _

"Okay and Hurry! Whoever she is probably needs immediate medical attention." They always searched, but this was the first time anything unusual popped up.

Lupo spoke up, "Wait." She hissed, heavily accented voice cracking through the cold air. She coughed into her sleeve and pressed the button again. "What the hell was she doing out there? Grab her. Bring her. I want you to make sure this isn't a security issue first, you hear me?" She glared at Billy. A small base in the Arctic, off the map. All of them felons, or wanted by Umbrella: whether it be selling out or plain treachery in Lupo's case, everyone had a price on their head. The danger they faced if their cover was blown was absolutely deadly. "We 'ave a bit of an issue." She rasped, coughing into her sleeve again and muttered, "_J'ai besoin de vacances...trop des problemes_..." She picked up her cup and frowned when she found it empty. "I need a vacation from you damn idiots."

"We aren't idiots. You love us." Billy joked as he cracked a sly smile. "You've been through hell and back with us on several occasions and keep coming back." She was, they wouldn't have been anywhere without her elite training and extensive knowledge of the shady corporation procedures.

"Damn lucky I do. A person just fell out of the sky into our safety zone…that's a little much for me. Hey!" She growled at one of the younger members of the group who happened to be stepping though the communications tent. He nearly jumped out of his skin and dropped the papers he was carrying. She motioned for him to come, "Don't be so scared of me. Harden your nose up. Get me a coffee and I'll leave you off the watch group tonight."

"Yes ma'am." He nodded and hurried off, Lupo leaned back on her chair.

"How nice of you. He needs a break anyway. He has a few documents to go through and decode for us." Billy grabbed his thermos of coffee off the table near him and took a few sips. This was going to be an interesting night.

"'e's a good kid." The man showed up again and handed her a mug of coffee, "Wonder who she was..." Their perimeter searches were precautionary at best, and always came up empty handed, serving the sole purpose of allowing the men on break to sleep a little sounder.

"Same here." He thought as someone familiar crossed his mind. He pushed down the uneasy feeling. He was sure she moved on. _No. She wouldn't be out here. _

"Backpacker wandered too far, I wonder." She replied, chewing on the words. Her knotted red hair fell messily out of the bun, curling around the fur collar of her coat, "I need to talk to Ruth." She said, "As soon as she arrives, the medic and I are having a talk. This is strange, even for our business it's strange and I want every precaution taken."

Billy nodded as he continued to stare out of the small square cut window of the tent. "I know, and the killer thing is, she has nothing on her. What in the world was she doing out here? And she seems to be alone as well." he said.

"That's what I don't understand." Lupo replied. It was fairly common for backpackers to get lost, but whoever was going out alone in the harsh Siberian wilderness needed their head examined. Didn't they have codes against such foolish things? Buddy system? She pondered over it, "B.S.A.A. usually doesn't sniff this far North. There's nothing for miles, that's why we're here." She tapped the glass nervously.

"You're right. Unless whatever she was searching for is hidden somewhere." He thought for a moment. The thing was they wouldn't have any answers until the girl woke up. About five minutes later, the sound the snowmobile was heard and the shadows appeared like ghosts out of the blowing snow bank. She looked away from the window as the two pulled a small person wrapped in a bundle of blankets out of the back seat. Billy and Lupo shouted the order for the medical team to bring the female inside to a separate tent.

"I 'ave a feeling I should check on 'er." Lupo said, yawning and taking another sip from her steaming mug. Crossing through the deep, drifted snow. It was not a trek she looked forward to. Regrettably leaving the mug on the desk, she stood and stretched her cold legs.

"Alright, keep me posted. Meanwhile, I'm going to see what else Ronnie and Hues found out there." Billy replied as he greeting the two men as they stepped inside the tent.

"I will. 'opefully it's fine and we can go to bed." She replied, zipping her coat and pulling her hood up before she braved stepping into the storm. Hopefully everything would be just fine. They'd feed the stranger some soup and then debrief her. It was fast and easy, station a guard with her for the night, then meet to discuss it again in the morning, after the stress of the winds and heavy snow hopefully passed.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

She trudged through the snow to the tent, under darkening skies and rushing winds. The storm was hitting, hard and fast. She considered turning around to warn the men to tie the tents down, but it seemed like miles to cross back through the frosty drifts when she was right in front of the medical tent. They'd have to figure it out themselves.

_Damn storm. _She tossed open the flap, making the three medics jump. The lanterns that hung from the ceiling rocked back and forth from the wind, sending deep gold light dancing through the air and made the shadows leap back and forth. One of them looked up at the roof, anxiously. It was the first time the tents were truly being tested, they were supposed to be built for it, but the sounds of squealing nylon and cables did little to boost ones confidence.

"O-oh it's you, Lupo." One of the medics, Smith, replied, "We're just setting up to look over the woman here."

Lupo boldly stepped forward, "Got an I.D. on her yet?"Not a woman, but a girl, wrapped up in the wool quilt they usually kept in the back of the snow vehicle for such emergencies. Her face was white, almost grey. With the poor lighting it was hard to judge her age and condition. Lupo studied her anyways— younger than she initially thought, and quite pretty. Long, frozen lashes fluttered over pale cheeks, gray plump lips. Once she warmed up, she'd be lovely.

"Not yet. But as soon as we do, you'll know." Keys replied, she was the lead medic, the most experienced of the group. A skeleton crew, none of them truly doctors but all trained in the basics of field medicine. "Alright, guys, let's unwrap her—but be careful. Something may be broken."

"God, she's cold." Jackson, the third medic, whispered. She brushed over the skin on her cheek with a gloved hand and gently flicked the ice crystals away from her eyes.

The team freed the poor girl from the wooly cocoon. Blood soaked through the tattered remains of her jacket, her clothes practically non-existent, torn to ribbons and stiff from the icy air. "Yes, she may be suffering from hypothermia. Hopefully it won't turn out to be phenomena." Doctor Keys replied

"Search 'er pockets, burn 'er clothes." Lupo ordered, watching them work, "There's no telling what she came in contact with out there."

"You're acting like you're expecting something, Lupo." Jackson replied, shaking her hair out of her face, "Is there something we need to be aware of?" She glanced at the tiny body on the gurney nervously.

"We'll search her, Lupo. But any injuries need to be treated first…She's hurt bad and she doesn't seem to have a extra set of clothes, would you care to lend her some?" Keys asked as she glared. She didn't appreciate anyone hovering over shoulder—especially not when the patient she worked on was gravely injured, and needed her full attention.

"We don't know where she came from." Lupo hissed, "You know the nature of this. Put her in a gown, she won't be leaving tonight anyway. I'll find something for 'er until then."

"That's true. Alright then, I'll be expecting you in a few hours then." Keys replied as she went back to work. Smith draped a paper sheet over her body while they begun to examine her. It wasn't very warm, but her mental health was just as important as her physical health. Making her feel safe was going to be half the battle, there was no telling what she'd endured.

"No. I think i'd like to stay." Lupo replied, sitting down and folding her arms over her chest for warmth. She was the only one in the medical tent armed, after all. She couldn't afford to leave her medics without a weapon. She doubted the girl was infected, but every precaution had to be taken. In the U.S.S., Lupo had seen the downside of not being careful. Maybe that was why she left as well, to get away from the death.

She couldn't keep killing. Being asked to kidnap Sherry in Raccoon City had been too much, especially with children of her own. She, Vector and Bertha had been the only ones left alive at that point, and they all parted ways, refusing to risk their necks against a heavily armed cop for little more than a wish for extraction. Maybe it was fate she and Coen teamed up to escape the city, and ended up getting started on their own ideas. _A year already. _

"She's young. I'd say...maybe twenty." Smith stated, looking over the young woman on the gurney. He grabbed a clip board with a few important papers on it and began to write things down. Lupo watched them hustle about, Keys was shouting at the girl over and over, trying to get some response out of her, but she seemed to be too far gone to respond.

"Yes, poor thing. Jackson please warm up some warm towels in the basin so we can try to get her body temperature back to normal." Keys ordered, "Can you hear me?" She raised her voice again, forcing open her eyelids and shining a small light into her eyes, "Can you talk to me?" Again, she was met with only silence.

"Pockets are torn off her pants..." Jackson observed, pulling away to throw towels in a basin and put them in the microwave. "I wonder if she was robbed."

"Out 'ere?" Lupo spoke up, "Who would rob 'er out 'ere?"

"And the bottom part of her shirt as well." Smith noted. "It appears..." He trailed off.

"Like she was clawed by something." Keys said, judging by three deep bloody gashes on her stomach. She pressed one of the towel's to her abdomen, pressing down to stint the bleeding.

"You 'ave my attention." Lupo said, nearly bolting upright, and hurrying to the table. Keys pulled the towel away momentarily to show her superior the injury.

"I don't know what that is…they're too neat for any B.O.W. I've seen."

"They're almost surgical." Keys added.

Typical B.O.W. attacks had ripped flesh and much worse damage, these three clean wounds were not typical of any of the monsters with which she had experience. Lupo's voice softened, "_Ma pauvre __chère_...What's on 'er neck?"

Keys found a large, deep red blistered area on the left on her neck. After assessing what it may be she replied, "It seems to be a large bruise, it's not a normal one. Looks as if she was burned by something." Lupo shook her head, poor girl. She touched her arm with a gloved hand while Jackson packed her in the warm towels and Keys worked on the wounds.

Smith picked up the bloody, torn clothes and moved them aside, though, something metallic fell to the ground.

"She has bruises on her leg...It seems like she wore a holster too tight. Either that or someone ripped the thing off her. I've never seen this happen before." The pattern was clear across her pale skin.

Lupo turned toward Smith who held something in his hands. A silver necklace.

"Hmm… what do we have here?" He picked up a set of dog tags. Looking closer under the light, his brow furrowed.

"What's 'er name?"

"Isn't Billy's last name Coen?" He asked.

"William Coen, yes." Lupo practically ripped the article from his hand and held it under the light. She was silent for a moment, before slinging the dog tags around her own neck, "That bastard." She mumbled, though, it was difficult to read if she was upset, angry, or shocked. Maybe a mix of the three.

"Coen knows this girl." Lupo said, quietly, "Why does he know this girl?"

"Go ask him yourself. But don't let him come in here. We're still working on her." Smith said as he continued making notes.

"I don't know." Jackson replied, "I...Better yet what..." She trailed off again, cleaning dry blood and dirt off of her face with one of the warm towels.

Lupo collapsed into the chair and exhaled, "No...no..

"Lupo, what's wrong?" Asked Keys, she cut a piece of thread, finishing the first stitch in one of the wounds, "Smith…Start checking her arms and legs for me. See if you can feel any fractures, I'm pretty sure we have broken ribs already." Snip, another stitch in. They were messy, but she had to move fast. The girl had already lost a lot of blood.

She pushed her hair back and let out a coughing fit, "I can't go out there and tell 'im this...not until...we know." Lupo did not know medicine, but she knew enough that if she were to stroll out and tell Billy she'd be okay, she'd be lying.

"Okay…I understand. If he does really know, his reaction would be critical." Smith passed his gloved hands over her arm shoulders, and then down each arm, feeling for any swelling or abnormal heat. Her right wrist seemed to be stiff, he noted, and moved to her legs; quickly finding what seemed to be another area of swelling. _Seems like a fracture in her fibula, but without x-rays we're shooting in the dark. _

"Yes. It would be." She replied, " How's she doing, Keys?"

"Her body temperature is climbing, it's amazing she is not dead." Keys said, "She's a tough little thing." Jackson continued to re-heat the towels, running back and forth from the microwave, "Keep going, Jackson, you're doing great."

Keys snipped off another stitch, and then another. "She also has split knuckles. Its seems to me she was in a fight."

"She fought off her attacker." Jackson said, placing another warmed towel over her, "Or...at least she tried. Then she somehow managed to get dragged all of the way out here. She fought hard." Her knuckles were split to the point where there was no skin left, her palms nearly as bad. Defensive wounds.

"Yeah." Smith agreed. "But what attacked her?" He shivered thinking about it. "I think her wrist is sprained, and her right leg may be broken. I'll make a splint."

"Can we set it?" Lupo asked, "Or is it too bad?"

"It's hard to say." He replied, "I doesn't seem too bad, but we don't have x-rays." While Jackson and Smith worked on her, Lupo pulled Keys aside, "Is she going to be okay?"

She had to have an answer to give Coen when he asked the same question, not matter how brutally honest it was.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

"Is she going to be okay?" A silence hung between them for a moment, the tent billowed, and the medics continued to work. Lupo took it as a no as they avoided her gaze and tended their work. Each medic's body language was

"Her body temperature is rising." Jackson said. It was not an answer, not even close to one. Just because she was getting warmer didn't mean she wasn't bleeding out internally. Lupo glared at Smith, then Jackson, to the girl, back to Keys: no one had much to say for themselves. If there was not a girl struggling for her life on the gurney, a screaming match would have ensued. But, the girl needed quiet, and Lupo respected that need.

"_Somebody tell me something." _

"I'm not sure as of now, but recovery is going to be slow. We do not have x-rays, nor do we have any facility for surgery." Key's said. They couldn't do much more.

"You think she needs surgery?"

"I don't know." She replied sharply. In any other situation, Lupo would have torn her head off for such an experience. Though, Keys took pleasure in being the main medic, she was too valuable to be crossed by their captain. Smith and Jackson, they'd face the wrath of the "wolf mother" later. "We need to finish treating her injuries first." Respectfully lowering her voice.

"No I.D. on her other than the dog-tags?"

Jackson's head snapped up, a jumpy young woman, "That's correct, ma'am." Smith nodded in agreement. He wondered what would happen afterwards.

Lupo came to her head, "Who are you, _ma chere_? Where did you come from?" She didn't get any response. Hesitantly, she rested her hand upon the girl's head—ice crystals had melted out of her hair, leaving it cold and wet, sticking up wildly.

Maybe this girl would do something good for their leader, Keys wondered. Though, Lupo pulled away just as fast, out of her element and retreating, "I should probably tell Billy." She was a trained killer, after all, not a medic.

"Maybe he could identify her for us." Smith said as they finished cleaning up the injuries. Messy stitches across her torso were wrapped in gauze. Her hands were concealed in thick white mittens of bandages.

"Agreed. Can I bring him in now?" She asked.

"Smith, help me get her in a gown." Keys said, Lupo took that as a 'yes'. She left the tent, and put her head down against the fierce winds. _Nous allons passer un nuit blance_. She thought, coughing. How stupid she'd been, thinking it was not a crisis and she was getting to bed early. She had a dying girl and her partner was somehow associated with her. There would be no sleep, not for a while. She threw open the flap to the tent where Billy and two others gathered around the lantern, nursing mugs of bitter black coffee,

"Coen! _Nous avons une petite probleme_! We have a small problem. Ronnie and Duncan-" They got up and left on cue, knowing Lupo intended to talk to Billy and him alone.

"What's wrong? And what's the status on the woman back there?" He asked her, tiredly taking another drink of the coffee.

She opened her mouth, and then shut it again. This was her partner, either she was going to give him terrible news or confuse the hell out of him, "I...I would like you to explain..." She shut her mouth again, and shifted her weight. There was no point sugar coating it, "Your dog-tags are around her neck."

Billy's eyebrows shot up in shock, he pulled the cup of coffee away from his lips with shaking hands and returned it to the table. The only one who took them was—

"No…no way...are you positive?!" He couldn't believe what he just heard, "Let me see them."

Lupo produced the article from her pocket and slid the metallic tags across the table toward him. "Unless there is another William Coen who served in the American Marines...which is a possibility."

At first Billy just stared at them. He picked them up to see if it was the real thing, and it was. He looked at the name-his name-inscribed onto the dog-tags. "These are mine." He drawled, and tossed them back onto the hard surface and stood, "Where is she?"

Lupo exhaled: exactly what she was afraid of, Billy had connections with the person, "Sit down. We talk first. Who is she? Care to explain?" She hissed, and leaned back on the chair. A cough rattled from her throat, momentarily diverting her piercing eyes.

Billy glanced at his dog-tags for a moment. "Is there a reason I should explain myself to you?" He met her, equally cold. How in hell had Rebecca gotten herself out in the middle of the snow in the middle of nowhere? She was accident prone, that much he knew, but the fact of the matter boiled down to the fact there was nothing she should have been after. Their missions were run remotely—that was why they were in the middle of nowhere.

"They were around her neck." Lupo placed emphasis on each word, leaning in aggressively.

Billy was good at hiding his emotions, he had been since he was in prison, and he certainly was not going to show his distress now. _She's here_? "Where is she?" He needed to see her before anything else, only after that, when he was sure it was her, would he explain the truth behind the dog-tags.

Lupo's glare refused to waver, "Who is she?" A woman trained to lead; she understood her current tactics were not getting far, "Coen." Her voice softened. This girl was something to him. She saw the fierce glimmer of protectiveness behind the anger it materialized in, "This is security, Coen...What's her name?" She could not afford to lose Billy, not even his mental state. They plowed head first into their first winter, or rather; the winter seemed to be pounding into them. Every man needed to be on his game, especially as the delved deeper into the conspiracy they faced.

Billy decided to at least offer Lupo her name. "Rebecca. She was a member of S.T.A.R.S."

"...I presume you met her during the incident with the train...Raccoon had a S.T.A.R.S. force." She replied, staring at the patterns in the faux wood table. "She's a lovely girl." Lupo begun to piece it together, she knew scraps of Billy's story, and knew that a R.P.D. member had let him walk free at some point, "She's the one who filed the fake report, isn't she?"

Billy nodded. "I owe her big time for that. After that ordeal, we went our separate ways. Lupo, I'd like to see her."

"Was she looking for you?" Lupo asked. It seemed the most plausible to her, why else would Rebecca be out there?

"I'm not sure if she was. I mean ...unless she somehow knows we're here." Billy shook his head. "I believe she was out here for something else."

"Well...she found something …I can tell you that much." Lupo exhaled and walked over to the makeshift heater, putting on a percolator for coffee.

"You mean she was attacked?" He asked, the mug in his hands grew cold. "How is she? I-is she going to be okay?"

"_I mean_ I don't know. We have no idea what happened to her. But she's hurt bad, and has defensive wounds." She topped off Billy's cup with the warmer liquid and nudged it into his limp hands, "The medics are doing what they can for her." He said nothing.

_They're doing what they can. _That never meant anything good, especially in terms of emergency medicine. He couldn't accept it, and he knew she was waiting for him to give her a response. If there was one thing she hated, it was when people didn't respond to her when she spoke, "Did…Did you find anything else on her?" He asked, but was unable to look up from the dark coffee.

"No." Lupo answered, knowing that he was trying to find an excuse as for why it wasn't the person he was thinking of, "She's tiny, pale, she has short hair."

"That could be anyone." It described her nearly spot on, but he refused to deal with that.

"It could be." Lupo replied, "And I 'ope it's not who you're looking for. But, look at the facts. She 'as your dog-tags. She's about...twenty if I had to guess."

"Twenty?" Billy thought about it, the age was nearly spot on too, but it still wasn't enough. He couldn't accept it unless he saw for himself.

Lupo wiped her nose with the back of her arm, "The medics are still working. You're going to stick your head in the door. That's all." There was privacy to preserve, but at the same time poor Coen needed to see. She couldn't leave him in the current state of wondering.

"Alright." He replied. As long as he saw her face, then he would know for sure. He stood up and followed Lupo outside in the fierce snowy weather.

She led him into the tent, "We're going to identify her, Keys."

"Alright...but he can't stay in here."

The medic backed away from the girl on the bed. Lupo motioned the man forward, and let the tent fall closed, keeping them safe from the brutal wind.

No matter how hard he braced himself, the man was not ready for the sight before him. The blood drained from his face. He wanted to take her cold body into his arms and hold her. She was pale to the point where she turned a grey color, parted lips gasped for shallow breaths. _Shit, Rebecca. _A bandaged leg, and bandaged wrists-

"C'mon, Billy. Come with me." The pressure of her strong hands on his arm.

Billy was at a loss for words, only able to follow in a state of numbness. "I can't believe it. It's her." It took a lot of will power not to run back to her.

She returned him to the common tent, barking at some men to leave. Her shouts echoed in his deaf ears. Lupo shoved the still-steaming mug into her comrade's hands, the same one he'd left on the table. "Are you alright?"

He was far from alright, silent for while. The only thing running through his head was the images of Rebecca in her current state. She was alive and healing, _it could be worse, it could be worse. She has a chance. _ "I'll be...alright."

Lupo reached out and touched his arm and took a deep breath, "When she was attacked, she fought so 'ard that all of 'er knuckles are split…then…she managed to drag 'erself away on a broken leg, and survive for at least three 'ours out there before they found 'er. She's a 'ell of a fighter."

"How bad is she hurt?" He wanted to know more, sure, what Lupo said was true, but he wanted to know the full extent of her damage. Rebecca was stubborn as hell, a girl with fire in her eyes. Though, he knew enough about first aid, enough about their situation. It didn't take a genius to realize she was in some trouble.

"A broken leg and wrist, blood loss, and she's 'ypothermic." Billy knew she was in bad shape, Lupo didn't sugar coat it. She respected him too much for such nonsense.

The storm crashed on them as they sat in silence. Waiting for news which didn't seem to come, and lost in their own worlds of thought.


	4. Chapter 4

**Sorry for the delay, here is the next chapter!**

Billy began to pace back and forth, wishing he could run back to Rebecca. _Pull it together, Coen, she's fine. Keys is good enough to take care of her. _

"Stop doing that, you are making me nervous." Lupo said, exhaling slowly while the tent continued to breathe around them. The cables squealed, and white flurries flooded in the cracks.

"Sorry." He apologized as he decided to sit back into the folding chair. "Is there anything else I don't know?" Billy asked..

She thought over it for a moment, "No. I think you know all I do." Billy nodded. All they could do was wait until Rebecca woke up. He became anxious as the minutes passed, slowly. _Shouldn't they have her stable by now? How long does it take? _But he also knew she would need time to heal, and facing hypothermia in the middle of nowhere in an unheated tent during a blizzard was perhaps the worst luck Rebecca had stumbled upon in her life. "Maybe you should go see her." Lupo suggested, seeing he was in deep thought, "If you're up to it...I'm not sure 'ow well she'll be able to respond to you. But I'm sure she'd like it."

Billy took Lupo's advice and braved the storm once again to get into the med tent. Keys gave him five minutes this time, seething that Lupo made a promise before she "okayed" it. It was her medical team, and she liked to run it, competing with Lupo for the role of the real female dog. Pulling up a nearby stool, he sat at Rebecca's side.

She did little more than breathe, suck in slow, wheezing breaths. Her face contorted occasionally, as if she was in pain or thinking deeply about something. Otherwise, aside from the bruises and cuts which flecked the exposed areas of her pale skin, she looked peaceful. Instead of dwelling on her injuries, Billy kept his eyes on her face. She still looked as young as she did when he'd last seen her.

He stroked her cheek several time and moved onto her hair, hoping to get some kind of response, but nothing happened. His muddled mind pulled up memories from long before, the rattling of the train under their feet, pouring rain, cracking thunder. Wet slaps of leeches upon the wooden floor. Her voice, which drowned out the other, less pleasant sounds. Billy longed to hear her speak now, to hear the musical words as they escaped her plump lips. How had she been then? Spry and bossy, a vital little thing. It was strange to see her this way, so quiet. She'd always been soft spoken, but this was too quiet, even for her.

"Dollface, you'll be fine and when you wake up, I'll be here to greet you." Billy told her. He heard something once: if a person was unconscious and you spoke to them, they could possibly hear. He hoped it was true, but was certainly no expert.

Her breath hitched for a moment before returning to its slow rhythm. Bruised eyes fluttered but refused to open. Billy saw the reaction and knew she was struggling to wake._ Come on, you're okay, just open your eyes. Please, Becca, wake up_.

"Come on out, Coen." Keys said, motioning to the door, "She needs her rest

"Can I please have a few more minutes?" Billy asked her. He hoped that would be long enough to at least see Rebecca open her eyes.

"Fine." She replied, seating herself on the opposite side of the tent. The woman glanced up anxiously as the lanterns billowed again. "Just don't bother her too much."

Billy said a silent thank you as he took his seat on the semi warm stool next to Rebecca's bedside. He laid a hand on her arm, although he wished her hands were free of the gauze. The girl seemed to flinch at his touch. Billy thought the lanterns that swung back and forth above him that danced the light and shadows were playing tricks on his eyes. But when he gently began to rub her arm, he did see her twitch a little. He smiled.

Rebecca stirred with a cough, perhaps seeing she was in an unfamiliar bed, and attempted to bolt upright. Though, pain stopped her halfway, and laced through her partially open, unseeing eyes. Keys spun around at the sudden movement.

Billy quickly stood as Keys joined him at her bedside. "Take it easy Rebecca, you're safe here." Keys said while touching her shoulder for comfort. The two partially forced her back down; she quickly gave up the fight against them, returning to her state with her eyes partially closed.

"Just breathe Rebecca." Billy told her softly.

She let out a whine, "C...co..ld."

Keys rested her hand upon Rebecca's forehead, "Can you hear me?" She asked, forcing the girl's eyes open, shining a small light into her pupils.

"Yes." Rebecca's voice was hoarse and rattling.

"There isn't too much we can do for you now, but your body is warming back up." After Keys examined her eyes, she slowly smiled. "Good, your eyesight isn't damaged."Keys withdrew and poured the contents of a water bottle into a mug, setting it into the microwave.

After a few minutes, the water was warm enough. Billy gently propped up Rebecca as Keys held the cup to her mouth.

"Can you swallow, honey?" Rebecca forced down a sip of the water, and nearly gagged on it.

"Try taking tiny sips, until you can do better." Keys added, "Do you know who you are?"

She turned her head away from the mug and leaned back on Billy's forearm, giving a small nod. "Rebecca...Chambers."

"Ms. Chambers, what is the year?"

"Nineteen...ninety nine..." She stirred, grimacing as she did so and squeezing her eyes shut. "Where am I?"

"Good. One more question, how old are you?" This was the last question for the night. Any more were going to wait until she came around further.

Rebecca paused, "Nineteen...Where...am i?"

Billy answered her, "Safe, at our base. You're in Siberia."She was getting tired, her body protested every movement she made and her eyelids grew heavy. It was difficult to focus on the blur of the woman's face.

"Billy?" She exhaled, reaching out weakly for him. Hands trembling.

"She's out of it, Ms. Chambers please rest. We'll talk a little more once you wake up." Keys said as she covered her body once more with the warm blankets.

Billy gently held her hands in his own. "I'm right here doll face." He beamed at her, glad she was awake, and as far as he could tell, doing alright.

Rebecca almost instantly fell back into unconsciousness. Billy sighed and stood up, motioning for Keys to follow him to the other side of the tent. "So…what's the prognosis, Keys?" He asked her in a low tone. He didn't want to wake up Rebecca, but she probably wouldn't hear them anyway.

She chewed the inside of her cheek, "I don't know how that girl just had a conversation with us..." She trailed off, "But, she'll get better, she should. She's pretty disoriented." A howl of wind made the medic jump, another shiver, hands running over her slicked back hair, "Unfortunately she's had a lot of physiological trauma. These injuries were inflicted by someone."

Billy felt a surge of anger at whoever hurt Rebecca. How could they? A doe eyed teenager, kind hearted and thoroughly harmless. Why? What did she do to possibly disserve the state she was in. He didn't express it outwardly, instead buried it inside. There was no point getting angry, he had to stay calm, especially for the traumatized girl. All they could do was wait until Rebecca could speak with them. "But in the end, she could make a full recovery right?"

"She should. But, you should stay with her tonight. Rebecca unfortunately may have nightmares." Billy nodded in understanding, more than happy to watch and sit by her side all night. What he didn't catch was the actual meaning behind Keys' words. She knew Ms. Chambers and Billy had a strong connection to each other, and Billy would be the best person to calm her fears.

She touched his arm, "Jackson will be in calling distance, just in case..." Keys trailed off before dodging out of the door, into the blizzard to leave at the end of her shift. Jackson replaced her, sitting down behind the curtains at the desk and resting beside the lantern.


	5. Chapter 5

She touched his arm, "Jackson will be in calling distance, just in case..." Keys trailed off before dodging out of the door, into the blizzard to leave at the end of her shift. Jackson replaced her, sitting down behind the curtains at the desk and resting beside the lantern. Occasionally she'd pause from her reading to glance over her shoulder. Rebecca weakly turned her head back and forth, mashing her hair into the paper pillow and mumbling incoherently. Billy watched her movements with concern—it made Jackson smile.

With the confidence he was watching her, she settled into reading.

Billy grabbed Rebecca's hand in his own and squeezed – letting her know he was silently there for her. She jumped as he touched her, perhaps frightened by whatever scene unfolded behind closed eyes. He stayed alert, debating to leave her alone or wake her, and settling on the later. Even if it was a restless sleep, it was sleep, and she desperately needed the rest.

Eventually, she quieted and fell back into her silent and still state. He relaxed with her.

Three men sitting at the card table, Lupo at the head. Three pairs of eyes, questioning looks, fear, perhaps? All of them working up the nerve to say something— feeding off the others' anxiety and silently willing the next to speak first.

She didn't like it.

"Is there a problem?" Lupo hissed through her teeth.

"W-well..." Mike, the youngest and shiest, happened to be the one pressured into opening his mouth. The other two were the ones who'd found Rebecca, and with nearly two hours passed, she expected they were unhappy with the lack of information. "We were wondering about the new girl…how is she?" He asked

"Fine." Lupo answered, "Go to bed. All of you. Aren't you supposed to be on guard duty now, Hues?" She barked.

"Yes ma'am." Hues responded unhappily, heading out to his post, but not without a suspicious glance backward.

"Will she be alright?"

"She will be fine, Michel." The woman didn't look at him, instead her glare found the man who seemed to be challenging her authority.

Ronnie and Mike stayed still, "How much danger are we in?" Ronnie asked, normally the jokester, he took on an uncharacteristically serious persona. Mike looked from him to Lupo as he waited on her response.

"None." Lupo replied, "Nothing to worry about."

"Considering we found some girl in the middle of fucking nowhere? She did not do that to herself!" He motioned out toward the tundra.

"_Mind who you are talking to." _ Lupo sat still, "But yes, I am well aware of that, Ronnie."

"By the way," Ronnie scoffed, "What happened to Coen? He's been gone a while."

"Taking care of some... business." Lupo answered, "Leave 'im alone."

"Alright." Ronnie poured himself another cup of coffee.

A few more moments without conversation, but their tension hung like electricity in the air, "What happened to her?" Mike asked.

"We do not know." Lupo replied, "But as you said, she did not do it to 'erself."

"I hope we don't encounter whatever she did." Mike mumbled, "That's my concern. "

"With all due respect to her..." Ronnie paused, "She looked like a rape victim. Who beats a woman and leaves her all of the way out here. Is there something bigger going on here, ma'am? This whole situation is a little effed up."

"We do not know. But there is no cause for worry at this time. If someone wanted to 'urt us, they would've already."

"I'd like to see her for myse—"

"Soon Ronnie, you'll see her soon enough. She's resting now, let her be. I'm sure we'll all know something soon enough." Mikey said. At the same time, Keys entered the tent. Lupo turned toward her, the woman was covered in snow, it stuck to her eyelashes and clung to each strand of golden hair.

As she stepped into the room, everyone went silent. "Good evening, everyone." Keys greeted, trying to ignore the fact she'd most likely walked in on a sensitive conversation.

Mike and Ronnie greeted her back with awkward "hello"s.

"Good evening. 'ow is the girl?" Lupo asked.

Keys joined them at the card table. "She woke up." Keys continued. "Billy and I were there. She tried to have a conversation with us, but she was pretty delirious. She's sleeping again at the moment."

"She say anything?" Lupo asked, interest perked.

"Nothing we don't know. She knows her name, that's about it in her current state." Keys pushed her hair back and yawned.

"Memory loss, or just tired?" The men quieted, listening to the conversation.

"I'm not sure if she has memory loss yet, there's a strong possibility it's being caused by the medicine. She seemed really tired so we let her rest. She's being looked after, there's nothing to worry about for the night. She's stable."

Another bout of silence, "Is there anything you think we should be concerned with?" Lupo asked Keys, mostly intending to put the minds of her men at ease.

"Not at all. She seems to be a very sweet girl." Keys replied, "If you excuse me." She gave a nod and disappeared to the sleeping quarters.

"I'm not worried about her. I'm worried about what did that to her." Ronnie stood, intending to head to bed, "You should be to. We all should be."

"Before I go to bed in the morning, I'll send patrols out. We carry on the same as always. That's an order. For now, we can't do much with the weather like that."


	6. Chapter 6

**chapter 6**

Rebecca stayed silent, as still as stone, her face grayed from blood loss. She slept quietly, much to Billy's relief. Head sunken into the paper pillow, eyes twitching occasionally.

A fourteen hour shift and now another six hours on that without sleep. Billy closed his eyes as he leaned back in his chair, head rested against the cool plastic of a pole supporting the canvas above their heads. _Where did you come from? _Once tired, now wide awake: too many questions, too few answers.

Women didn't fall out of the sky. Sleep didn't come as every thought which occurred to him brought along several more issues. If someone dumped her outside, they were around. Still around. Where had they gone? What was the motive to hurting doe-eyed Rebecca? Jaw tightened, eyes squeezed shut in the futile effort to force a few moments of quiet. To focus on something, something other than the matter at hand. Something blank, easy, emotionless as he learned to do in prison—find something emotionless. Let the mind go black. Her breathing, no, too many feelings. The wind? Too unstable. Snow? Too cold. He settled on the rocking of the light in the room, gold and black, no areas in between. That did it for a moment. Light. Dark. Light. Dark.

His mind fell into the rhythm without thought. The night grew colder, and as the storm passed, took on an eerie silence. Rebecca lulled her head to the side, sighing, the crunch of paper underneath her head.

"Those things really aren't that comfortable are they, doll face?" He asked even though he was met with silence. Her lips tried to formulate words, eyes squeezed shut. Eventually, the words escaped her mouth:

"P...pass...J...ill..."

Another turn of her head, brow furrowed.

"Rebecca?" Billy called out to her confused at what she was mumbling about, "You alright?" He scooted closer to her in case she said anything else. Another bout of quiet, and he leaned his head down on the bedside table, allowing exhaustion to overtake him.

As the first grey of morning light hit the tent, Rebecca awoke with a start. Inhaling sharply as she took in her surroundings, "B..Billy?" Billy rose his head up off his arms as he wiped the sleep from his eyes.

"Good morning, Rebecca. How did you sleep?" He asked as he smiled at her.

She narrowed her eyes at him, then reached up with her bandaged hand—jumping as the gauze hit her face and glaring at the white mitten of wrappings like some sort of creature, "W-what...Billy? Where am...I?" She winced, "What...Where? You?" She stared at him in complete shock, flushing suddenly, realizing she was wearing unfamiliar clothes and laying with her head mashed into a pillow. A cot with white sheets, a matching one beside it. White curtain screens, the all too familiar red cross symbol. Pain radiated from her body, ankle throbbing. "What happened to me?"

"Rebecca calm down first and I'll explain." Billy urged her, hoping she wasn't going into a panic attack. Her look frightened him—doe eyes in headlights. Jackson busied herself with heating another small glass of water in the microwave. She removed the mug and handed it to Billy.

"Rebecca, do you want water?" He held the cup out to her.

She refused to take the cup into her hands, "What? Where am I?" She growled, trying to move but stopped by a sudden pain shooting up her leg and through her side. Her hands stung beneath mittens of gauze, the pressure of more bandages cast a dull throb around her midsection.

"You're at a base camp in Siberia… with my team and I. We found you freezing and injured far away. Our surveillance team brought you back and the medics took care of your injuries." Billy explained.

He continued to try and push the warm cup into her hands. "Siberia?" She coughed, finally succumbing to the pain and laying back into the pillow.

"Rebecca you're safe here. Just breathe, alright." He told her, setting the glass on the table.

"What?" She brought her hand back to her forehead, feeling a migraine worming into her skull, "How did I get here?"

"That's a…good question." He paused, then continued, "We found you out there, some of our people found you. They brought you back here."

"I...Thanks?" She stared at him blankly, "But how did i get out there?"

Billy continued, "just what are you doing in Siberia anyway?" He asked knowing full well he wasn't going to get a real answer due to her current state.

Rebecca panted, the pain of her injuries catching up with her, she chewed her lip as another spasm shot up her leg "I...I don't remember..." She answered, voice strained, "I...I was on a mission...but i don't...remember..."

"Hey." Billy said in a gentle tone. "It's alright. We'll take this one step at a time."

Jackson gripped her arm, making her jump. Rebecca stared suspiciously at the newcomer.

"This is one of the women who saved your life. Ms. Jackson." Billy introduced her.

"T-thanks." Rebecca coughed, "Nice...to meet you?" She still stared up with wide eyes, and disliking the feeling of faces looking down at her, tired to sit up again.

"Lay down, hun." Jackson said, "I'm glad to see you're feeling better. Now, you woke up briefly last night, do you remember?" Rebecca shook her head, "Okay, that's okay, you've had a lot of medication, that's fairly common."

Rebecca's eyes rolled in her head; she glanced frantically back and forth. A huge, black gap in her memory. Waking up in a cold room in new clothes and badly injured. Siberia? As much as she wracked her memory, she couldn't remember, "I can't remember anything." She told Jackson, begging, "Why can't I remember?"

"Well sweetie, you've been through a lot. You're not showing any signs of head trauma, your memories should come back after some of the stress wears off. It's amnesia—trauma induced amnesia. It shouldn't be permanent." Jackson assured her. Rebecca said nothing, groaning softly in pain as Jackson pressed on her torn sides and broken ankle. "I know it's painful but as you rest and heal, it will get better. For now," Jackson searched a nearby storage case and returned with a liquid bottle of morphine.

Jackson filled a syringe, and gripped Rebecca's arm gently, "What are you giving me?" She demanded, finding her voice.

"Morphine. It will help with the pain." Jackson used an alcohol wipe to clean the area as she readied the needle for injection. "Just a small poke..."

Rebecca leaned her head back and sighed.


End file.
